Infanticide is the killing of young offspring’s by a mature animal of its own species (Wikipedia). Infanticide is quite common in certain animals. Recently, a male Leopard was photographed killing and eating a cub in the Okavango delta, Botswana. This was the first ever photograph of a male leopard committing infanticide.

We too are Guilty

Human beings too, have been known to practice infanticide. Thankfully, this behavior no longer exists, at least in many communities around the world. Scientists have identified the following as some of the major reasons why certain animals chose infanticide over survival: Adaptive strategy, psycho-social pathology, and population regulation.